Getting A Clue
by Waiting for my Soulmate
Summary: Previously posted on Lj. Warrick and Nick have been keeping secrets. WS, NG


Warrick's phone rang loudly in the silence, causing him to stir from sleep and reach to the bedside table. His hand groped in the empty air before he roused enough to realise that he wasn't in his own bed, and that the annoying shrill tone was his cell, not his home phone. He rolled out of bed and reached for his jacket, slung over a chair near the bedroom door.

"Brown. Hey, Nick, what's happenin'?' He grabbed the post it pad and pen from a nearby table and wrote quickly on it, 'I'll be right in. No, no, don't come pick me up, I can drive myself.' a short sigh followed as Nick failed to take the hint. 'Look, Nicky, I'm not at my place, ok? How about I come get you?"

A short pause followed

"Where are you then? You got lucky last night didn't you? I knew it! I can hear it in your voice, you're with some chick! Don't worry I won't say anything, as long as I get some details when we get in. I'll see you at the lab in a half hour."

Warrick smiled to himself as he hung up the phone, it was about time Nicky got himself a girl.

Half an hour later, showered changed and eating a bagel, Warrick strolled in to the lab, greeting Catherine through the plate glass of the lab, where she was getting one of Sanders' 'presentations'. He found Nick in the AV lab, hunched over a computer screen showing the CCTV footage from the robbery they were working.

"Hey man, what'd you have?"

"Hey 'Rick, I'm just checkin' the camera footage again, there's something wrong with the second guard that goes down, I can't figure it out."

Warrick looked at the screen where the video recording played on a continuous two minute loop. The two men studied the man in the video for twenty minutes before sitting back in frustration. Nick went to fetch coffee and aspirin, the close analysis had given him a headache. Warrick, on the other hand, walked along to the lab in the hopes of finding Catherine, and a fresh pair of eyes. Instead he found Sara, carrying a vial of blood in to the DNA lab for testing. They stopped to exchange a few words, then Sara dropped off her evidence and accompanied Warrick back to the AV lab to take a look at the surveillance.

Nick was already back when they entered the room, chatting idly.

"No problem, I've got to wait on Greg to process my blood, I've got nothing to do until that's done. Hey Nick, how's the video evidence going? Can you pull up the bit you want me to take a look at?" Sara said, taking a seat in front of the computer screen and making herself comfortable. Warrick stood behind her, one hand resting on the back of the chair.

"Sure, thanks for doing this Sara" he replied as he cued up the footage and set it running. On the screen, a robbery unfolded, one guard was shot in the arm as he reached for his gun, then second went down as well. Sara stopped the playback, and watched it a second time.

"The second guard just dropped. Look where he's standing, right by the alarm button. Why didn't he hit it? The thieves hadn't even turned, hadn't even seen him when he hit the floor. He knew what was gonna happen."

Warrick called O'Riley to let him know that he should bring in one of the guards for further questioning. On returning to the breakroom to find Nick, Warrick suddenly remembered their conversation that morning and set about trying to discover the identity of Nick's new girl.

"Does she work here then Nicky?"

Nick's eyes looked shocked, but he recovered quickly

"What are you talkin' about, man? I already told you I wasn't with a girl last night. What about you, hmm? You weren't at your place either."

"I'll tell you if you tell me. We're friends; we're s'posed to tell each other this kind of stuff." Warrick spoke lightly, but he really wanted to know if Nick had finally gotten himself a girlfriend, he wanted to know that everything his friend had been through hadn't ruined his chances of happiness. There was a strong element of curiosity behind Warrick's questioning, but he genuinely wished to make sure his friend was ok, even if he had to disguise it as manly interest. He pushed Nick to confess where he had been last night, but Nick wasn't budging. Warrick tried threatening, cajoling, even calculated guesses, but eventually Nick's resolve crumbled under the sustained assault.

Nick chuckled inwardly, Warrick certainly was persistent, but Nick wasn't sure he was ready to tell anyone about his secret. A look towards the glass lab steeled his resolve and he looked Warrick in the eye as he gave his answer

"I was with Greg"

Warrick saw that Nick was telling the truth, and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, he had hoped that Nick had found someone to share his life with, he deserved that much. When Nick had admitted that he had stayed over at someone's house, Warrick had been hopeful that he had finally found a person he could be happy with, as he knew that Nick's southern values did not allow for frequent one night stands, despite his reputation as a ladies man.

"Aw, man, I thought you had a date, not just a night watching the game with Sanders" he said, and was shocked to see Nick blush furiously. Something clicked for Warrick, and he suddenly got a clue as to Nick's behaviour around the lab tech, the touches, his constant presence in the lab, the studied insouciance whenever Greg was around. Warrick was taken aback, there could be no denial, but he was happy nonetheless. It seemed that the most eligible bachelors on the night shift were as bad as each other when it came to keeping secrets.

At the end of shift, suspect in custody, Warrick shrugged in to his coat and left the building quickly. Nick, nervous of Warrick's continued reaction to his revelation, watched him leave, and noticed that he turned left out of the parking lot instead of right.

Shaking his head slightly, Nick waited by the double doors for the familiar sandy spiked hair to appear, followed closely by the rest of Greg as he arrived, muffled absurdly against a slight breeze. Nick allowed himself to pull Greg in to a quick, one armed hug, before they went to their respective cars. Greg was startled a few minutes later by Nick, tapping on his window and motioning for him to lower it.

"Hey, G, I was thinking…wanna give me a ride home?"

Greg smiled as imperceptibly as possible, in case he frightened Nick back in to his secretive habits, and contented himself with a simple,

"Sure, hop in."

As he had left the parking lot, Warrick had pulled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial

"You won't believe what I found out today…no, I'm not gonna tell you over the phone, I'll be home in a few."

He arrived at the house, pulled in to the drive and collected his kit from the back seat. He knew that she was waiting inside, dying to know the news but equally eager to appear nonchalant, a pose which would break down almost instantly, the second he stepped in the door. So he stretched the moment, pretending to examine something in his kit, watching the front window carefully for the telltale twitch at the curtains.

Finally, he entered the house, heading straight for the kitchen as usual.

"Hey baby, what're you making?" he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his head in the crook of her neck.

"Pancakes. So, what's the big news?"

Sara couldn't believe it when he told her.


End file.
